Torque measuring tool



Feb' 12 1946- D. R. PIA-r1' ETAL TORQUE MEASURING TOOL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Dec. 27, 19444' Feb. 12, 1946.

D. R. PIATT ETAL TORQUE MEASURING TOOL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 27,1944 D.R. 'P I ATT t@KUNTERSCHUTZ AmvEN'roRs Patented Feb. 12, 1946UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,394,634 'roRQUE MEASURING l'robin DonaldR. Piatt and Roman `yUnterschutz, Enz'ii cott, N. Y., assignor's toInternational Business Machines Corporation, New York, N. Y., acorporation of New York Application December 27, 1944, vsenin No.569,983

8 Claims.

This invention relates to 'torque measuring devices.

The general object of the invention is 'to provide 'a hand tool of novel'construction to be appliedto a work piece to determine its torque.

An `object of the invention is, more 'specic'al1y, to provide a handtool, 'which includes torque counterbalancing means of the automaticallyvarably resistant type, such as a spring counterbalance, to be operatedby hand c'onjointly with torque indicating means.

An object of the invention is, further, yto provide a torque testerincluding counterbalancing and indicating means capable of v'nding thedrive torque 'of 'a rotating work piece when 'it is rotating in eitherclockwise or counterclockwis'e direction.

An' object of 'the invention is, further, to provide a torque tester'with 'simplified means for braking the movement of'a work piece andindieating `its torque.-

An object of the invention is, further, Ito provide a torque testerconstructed and used as a han'd tool and with novel means fortransmitting the rotation of a work piece ,to braking and ine dicatingmeans in the hand tool.

Other objects of the invention will be pointed outin the followingdescription and lclaims and illustrated in the accompanying drawingswhich i disclose, by way of examples, the principle of the invention andthe best mode, which has been contemplated, of applying that lprinciple.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an outside View of one form of the torque testing toolconstructed according tothel invention, showing the manner ofapplication ol the tool to a work shaft. 'A small fragment of the toolvi's shownin section. t n Fig. 2 is a sectional view through' the torquetestingltoo'l illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a rear View of this torque testing tool; 'showing itsindicating side.

l Fig. '4 is an outside View of a 'modincation oi the torque testingtool constructed according to the invention, showing' its `applicatio'nto a work 'piece when Vrotatingl in `a. clockwise direction.

Fig. 5 is a 'partially 'sectional bottom view 'of the 'torque testingtool shown :in 4.

Fig. 6 is a section along lines -6-6 of Fig. v'5.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3, the r's't form 'of a torque testerconstructed according "to my invention is shown. The torque testercomprises a drum casing consisting of a cylindrical shell I0 and frontand rear plates I I and I"2 hel-d together 'rigidly by three bolts I3.Secured to and 'extending forwardly of the front plate is e ban bearingassembly including outer shell I4, ball cages I5 and I6, and vspacer I1.The shaft I8 of an 'adapter 0r 'coupler V9. passes through .the spacerI'I and its rear end has pinned to it the hub 22 of a brake drum 23. Thecoupler I9 and drum are suitably held in rigid relation to the innervball cages I6 so as to rotate therewith. It will be seen that the drum273 is housed with'- in the drum lcasing I-II-j-IZ. The drum is made `ofsteel or itse'quivalent and the drum pe'- riphery is highly polished.

The adapter I9 has a bore I9'a in its iront 'end to nt over an end ofawork shaft 2|, thereby v"to centralize the torque tester with the axisof the work shaft. Notches I9b are provided in the iront end of theadapter to receive the .projecting ends of Ia pin 20 secured tothe shaft`,2"I 'and thereby to couple the adapter and the Aattached drum to theshaft'for common rotation.

Wrapped around drum 23 is a wire 24 of phosphor bronze or itsequivalent. One end of wire 2.4 i's anchored toa stud 25 extendingVinwardly from front plate II. The other end of wire '24 is attached tothe free end of a leaf spring 26 which is to serve as a var iablyresistant torque counterbalance. Spring 2K6 is fixed to the 4flatportion of aapivot member `28 so as to be flexed by turning of thepivotmernber. The pivot lmentrber 28 Vhas reduced round ends ljournaledin the plates Il and I2. Pinned to the reduced end of the pivot member28 and extending "outside of the plate I2 is an index member orpointer-30. The pointed end `of the member 30 i's adapted t0 scan agraduated scale 3'I inscribed on the out'- side face of plate I2. Theindex member 3|! may be rocked between two limit stops 32 extending`trom rear plate I2. 'l

In the unoper'ated positions of the parts, spring 2B abuts a fixed stud3'3 projecting inwardly from front 'plate II. Itis assumed that thetorque to be measured will exceed 411@ oz. inches. Hence, the spring 26normally Vis at such eXure as to l'c'ounterbalance a torque of about11/2v oz. inches, as indicated Vby the position of the index member 3Bshow-n in Fig. 3. It lwill be'noted that the drum casing enc'lo'se's thedrum 23, leaf spring 26, and all the other parts except the vindex mem'-ber, ball bearing assembly, and adapter. This torque testing andmeasuring tool is adapted to determine the torque of a work piecerotating in a direction such that when the adapter I9 is coupledthereto, the work piece will rotate the adapter and drum 23 incountercl'ockwise direction (as viewed in Fig'. 3). It vis understoodthat jecting end of the pivot member 52.

shaft 2| is rotated by a suitable releasable drive (not shown).

To nd the drive torque of shaft 2|, the adapter I8 is placed in couplingconnection with the shaft as shown in Fig. 1. With the operator holdingthe casing l--I ||2 stationary in one hand and the index member 35 inits normal position, shaft 2| will rotate adapter I9 and drum 23freely.V While holding the casing stationary in one hand, the operatormoves the index member 3|) counterclockwise with the other hand. Pivotmember 28 turns with the index member and increases the exure of leafspring26, thereby increasing the spring tension applied to wire 24. Thewire tightens around drum 23 and when sufficient spring tension f hasbeen Vapplied thereto, the wire is so tight on the drum as to brake it'to` a stop. Consequently, adapter I9 and work shaft 2| are stalled. Thepoint of the indicating scale A3| at Vwhich the index member ispositioned at Y in either clockwise or counterclockwis'e direction.

As an illustration, the work member is a disk 40 rotatable-by a suitablereleasable drive (not shown) in either clockwise or counterclockwisedirection. The torque tester comprises a pair of spaced apart andparallel side plates 42 and 43 rigidly secured to a handle 44. A pin 45is xed between the plates 42 and 43 at their forward ends. Journaled onthe pin 45, through ball bearings 46, is a member 41 made of steel.Y

One portion ofmember 4l is formed as a brake drum 47a equivalent to drum23 of the torque tester shownY in Figs. 1 to 3 and described before.Wrapped around the highly polished drum surface is a wire v48 ofphosphor bronze material orY the equivalent. One `end of the wireV 48 isanchored to a Vstud 49 projecting inwardly from side plate 43. vTheother end of the wire 48 is secured-,to the free end ofV a leaf spring5. At its opposite Yend, spring 50 is attached to the flat, centralportion of a pivot member 52 Y which has reduced ends journaled in theside plates 42and 43. These reduced ends extend outside the side 'platesand are formed with slots 52a adapted to receive a pin 54 a secured toan index member 54 and crossing an opening invthe index member. VTheopening in the index member is of a size to fit over either pro- Whenlthevindex member 54 is thus placed on an end of the pivot member 52,the pin 54a entersV the slot 52a in the end ofthe pivot member. Theindex member may thus be removably, interchangeably coupled to eitherend of the pivot member in such manner that lupon rocking of the indexmember it will rock the pivot member. The index member 54 is held toeither reduced endA of the pivot member 52 by friction and by thepressure of the operators hand on knob B during the application of thetool to the work.V Each of the side plates 42 and 43 is inscribed onVits outer facewith e. similar scale 5,5 of ounce-inch torque graduationsand numbers. attached to the end of the pivot member projecting past theplate 42, the index member will coact with the scale on the' face ofside plate 42, as shown in Fig. 4. When the index member is attached tothe end of the pivot Thus, when the index member isv clockwise (Fig. 4).

member projecting past the side plate 43, as indicated by dot and dashlines in Fig. 5, the index member will coact with the Ascale inscribedon the face of plate 43. Stops 65 provided on each side plate limit theswing of the index member. Y

Fixedly mounted on the member 41 is a friction ring 58 made of rubber ora suitable equivalent. Side plates 42 and 43 are provided with similar,cupped buttons 42a and 43a, respectively. Each of these buttons isadapted to -fit over a xed element 60 which is not part'of the torquetester but is mounted, in a manner not shown, in fixed relation to theWork piece 40. The fixed Velement 64 may be the head of a screw threadedinto the frame on which the work piece mounting is carried. The elementSi) when inside the button 42a or 43a serves as a pivot for the torquetester.

When the work piece 40 is rotating counterclockwise (Fig. 4), the torquetester is applied as shown in Figs. 4 and 5; that is, the button 43areceives the fixed element 68, as shown in full lines in Fig. 5 and. theindex member 54 is coupled to the end of the pivot member 52 whichprojects past the side plate 42, as 'shown in a full lines in Figs. 4and 5. To find the counterclockwise drive torque-of the work piece 4|),the operator holds the handle 44 in one hand and swings the tool bodily,around the fixed pivot 60, clockwise (Fig. 4) so as to engage thefriction ring 58 firmly with the work piece 48. Since the Work piece isrotating counterclockwise, it will effect clockwise rotation of thefriction ring 58 and the drum 47a. With the index member 54 in initialposition, shown in Fig. 4, the tension on the wire 48 is not sufficientto brake the drum 41a. Hence, the friction ring 58 and drum 41a ywill berotated freely by the work piece 40. Now, while holdling the handle 44in one hand inthe position in which the friction ring 58 is rmlyengagedwith the periphery of the work piece 4G, the operator grasps Vthe knob55 with the other hand and movesy the index member 54 counter- Leafspring 50 is thereby flexed to an increasing extent, thereby applyinggreater spring tension to wire r4 and tightening its grip on the drum41a. Theindex member is moved counterclockwise until the work piece isseen to stall, andthe counterclockwise drive torque is indicated at thispoint by the position of the index member with respect tothe scale 55. Y

When it is desired to measure the clockwise drive torque of the workpiece 40, the torque tester is held in a position which isY invertedwith respect to its position shown in Fig. 4; that is, the top edgeshown in Fig. 4 will appear as the bottom edge in the inverted position,as indicated in Fig. 6. Further, in the reversed position, the sideplate 43 and its scale will be in view, with the graduations runningupwardly; i. e., reversed withrespect to the direction in which thegraduations on plate 42 appear in Fig. 4. The index member 54 will beremoved from the end of the pivot member 52, outside plate 42 and beattached to the opposite end outside plate 43, as indicated by dot anddash lines in Fig. 5. WithA the index member thus attached and thetorque tester held in reversed position, the index member is initiallyin lower or counterclockwise position in which it points to the 1graduation at the bottom' of the scale appearing on the side plate 43.'.Io ap.-

y ply the torque tester in4 its reversed position to esegesi the work,the'buttcn 42a'freceives the fixed'pivot stud V6l), as lindicated 'bydo't and dash lines Figs. 5 :and 6. The operator will'graspthe handlev44 in one hand and swing it clockwise, about pivot stud 6D, to bringfriction `ring `'58 into firm engagement with work piece '40. Since thework piece, a fragment of which .is shown in phantom in Fig. '6, isassumed to be rotating clockwise, it will rotate the friction ring -58and drum 47a counterclockwise. With the other hand, the operator willgrasp knob 56 and move the index member 54 clockwise, iiexing the spring50 until it applies suilicient tension tothe wire -48 to brake the drum41a and, thereby, the friction ring 5B and work piece 40, to a stop. Atthis Point, 'the position of the index member on the -scale "inscribedon plate 43 indicates the clockwise drive torque of the work piece Whilethere have beenshown and described vand pointed out the novel features'of vthe invention as applied to a pluralityof embodiments, it vwill beunderstood that various omissions and substitutions and changes Yin theform and details of the devices illustrated and in their operation vmaybe made by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spiritof the invention. `It is the intention, therefore, to vbe limited onlyas indicated by the scope ofthe following claims.

What is 'claimed is:

1. A hand tool to measure the 'torque on 'a ro tatable work piece,comprising a carrier adapted to be held by one hand of van operator andbearing a scale of torque indications on an outside face, an indexmember pivoted on the carrier and adapted to be rocked by the other handof the operator along the scale, a device journaled on the carrier andengageable with the work piece to be rotated thereby, and variablyresistant counterbalance means connecting the index member to the deviceto exert increasing resistance to the rotation of the device and workpiece as the index member is rocked by one hand of the operator in anincreasing value direction along the scale while the carrier is heldstationary by the other hand, with the torque value being given by thepoint of the scale opposite the index member when the counterbalancemeans is exertingstallng resistance to the rotation of the device andwork piece.

2. A hand tool to measure the rotational torque on a circular workpiece, comprising a carrier adapted to be held by one hand of anoperator and bearing a scale of torque indications on an outside face,an index member mounted on the carrier to lie outside said face forcoaction with the scale and adapted to be moved relatively to the scaleby the other hand of the operator, a device j ournaled on the carrierand including a circular friction element enga-geable with the workpiece to transmit rotation of the Work piece to the device, and variablyresistant counterbalance means connected to the index member and to thedevice, to be operated by the index member, upon movement thereof inincreasing torque value direction along the scale, for increasinglyresisting rotation of the device and work piece, said tool being appliedby holding the carrier by one hand so that the friction element isengaged with the work piece to produce rotation of said device while theindex member is moved by the other hand to cause the counterbalancemeans to increase resistance to rotation of the device and work pieceuntil the work piece stalls, whereupon the position of the index membero-n the scale indicates the rotational torque.

3. A hand tool to measure the torque on a rolil) tatable .work.pie'ce,1'c"ompri'sing a carrier :adapted to rbe held byan voperator 1inone hand and 'providedwtih a visible scale 'of torque value indications,'an Aindex member mounted on the Scarrier for movement along fthe scaleand A'adapted "to be grasped 'by the operator in the other hand to be somoved, a device journaled on the carrier "and engageable with the `'workpiece forrotationfthereby relatively to the carrier w-hile the carrierisheld stationary by the 'operator in one hand, and variably resistantbraking means connecting the index 'member 'to said device for brakingthe 2device and work piece to a halt, uponmovementof the `index memberby one Yhand -oi the :operator to the correspondingtorque valueindicating 4position on the scale, while the other hand of 'the operatoris vholding the carrier stationary.

4. A hand tool to measure the torque fon arotatable work piece,comprising a carrier adapted to "be held by an operator and Vprovidedwith a visibles'cale of torque `valueindications, an index membermounted on the `carrier for movement along the scale, a device journaledon the carrier and engageable with the work piece for rotation therebyrelatively to the/carrier While the carrier is held by the 'operatoragainst rotation, 'a brake drum rigid with and rotatable with thedevice, a braking element wrapped aroundthedrurn and anchored at one endof the'carrier, and 'variabl-y resistant counterbalancemeans connectedto the braking element and to the index member to -pull on 'the brakingelementwith increasing o'rce, -vas the index member is moved inascending torque value direction along the scale, until the grip of theelement on the drum is so tight as to stall the work piece, whereuponthe stall torque is given by the position of the index member on thescale.

5. A hand tool to measure the torque of a rotatable work piece,comprising a carrier adapted to be held by an operator, a devicejournaled on the carrier and having an external portion engageable withthe work piece to transmit rotation of the work piece to the devicerelatively to the carrier while the carrier is held stationary by theoperator, a brake drum rigid With and rotatable with the device, abraking element wrapped around the drum and anchored at one end to thecarrier, variably resistant torque counterbalancing means connected tothe other end of the braking'element, and torque indicating meansprovided on the carrier and including a manually movable member mountedfor movement on the carrier and connected to the counterbalancing meansto increase the pull of the counterbalance means on the braking elementso as to tighten the grip of the braking element on the drum and stallrotation of the work piece as the movable member is brought to stalltorque value indicating position.

6. A hand tool to measure the torque on a rotatable Work piece,comprising an elongated carrier provided between its ends with pivotmeans engageable with a coacting xed pivot element separate from thetool, to provide an axis about which the carrier may be swung bodily inthe manner of a lever, a device journaled on the carrier to one side ofthe pivot means and including a friction ring engageable with the Workpiece by swinging the carrier about said axis and when so engagedtransmitting rotation of the work piece to the device, torque indicatingmeans provided on the carrier and including a manually movable membermounted on the carrier, and variably resistant torque counterbalancin!manner of a lever, a device journaled on the carrier at one side of thepivot means and including a friction ring engageable with the Work pieceby swinging the carrier about said axis and when so engaged transmittingrotation of the work piece to the device, torque indicating meansprovided on the carrier and including a manually movable member mountedon the carrier, and variable resistant torque counterbalancing meansconnected to the device and to the manually movable member for resistingthe rotation of the de- Y vice and work piece with increasing force assaid member is moved in ascending torque value indicating direction,said carrier being held in one position when the clockwise rotationaltorque on the work piece is to be measured and held in inverted positionwhen the counterclockwise torque of the work piece is to be measured,said indicating means including torque value scales on opposite sides,one of which is visible When the,

carrier is in one position and the other of which is visible whenthecarrier is in invertedposition, and said manually movable memberbeing adapt- Y ed to be mounted at either side of the carrier for toapply increasing resistance to the rotation of the device and work pieceupon movement of the manually movable member in ascending valuedirection relative to either one of the scales.`

8. A tool to measure the torque of a turnable Work piece, comprising .avcarrier provided with a visible scale of torque indications,A acoupling element turnably mounted on the carrier to be coupled to thework piece for common turning movement, a brake drum rigid with thecoupling element, a brake band anchored at one end to the carrier andengaging the periphery of the drum, a pivot mounted on the carrier, anindex pointer secured to the pivot and having a free end for. 1

scanning said scale, a leaf spring connected at one end to said pivotand at the other end con nected to the free end of the brake band, whereby upon manually turning the pivot and the index pointer'the leaf springis flexed so as to rapply rincreasing tension to the brake band forincreasing the friction of the band on the drum and thereby increasingthe counter-torque on the coupling element and work piece coupledthereto.

Y DONALD R. PIATT.

ROMAN UNTERSCHUTZ.

